Be My Shadow
by TheVideoGamer
Summary: I live my life completely alone. Well, except for him, but he's a shadow. Not a person. Right? Is he really even there? Am I just imagining his existence? The only part of him, the only part that even lets me know he's there, are those burning red eyes.
1. I Live in Desolation

Prologue

Like a mangled body left on the side of the road, I was alone. I wanted company, but I hated the presence of people, since I had no true friends. He was not a person. He was a project. A monster. And I couldn't feel anything when I saw him except his company.

Oh, and his eyes. I hated the burn of his eyes on me. They hit with excruciating force. I always knew when he was there. Watching.

Like a creeping predator about to slay a forever-lost victim, he watched.

And watched.

And watched.

Finally, there was a day when I felt his penetrating eyes, like usual, but for the first time, I began to wonder, why does he watch me like that? Shadow was just an experiment, and a young one at that. He had been worked on for only about seven years, and I never thought anything of the fact that he found me to be quite a spectacle.

I remember when my parents told me I was sick, and that I had to stay with Grandfather on the ARK. I was excited, but sad to leave my friends and family behind. I was going to the the very base of all government secrets and projects. I was going to see things that no average person could ever dream of. Or so I thought. I began to grow bored, for all I ever got to see were the rather boring sights of failed experiments. Monsters. Not real government weapons.

By the time I'd heard of Project Shadow and was told I would get to see it, I just didn't care anymore. It would be another failure.

And now, when I could always feel this creature lurking in the dark corners of what seemed to the every room I entered, I began to think back on why I didn't care at all for it. I didn't even give it a chance to meet me. I had automatically assumed it a failure. Realizing how unfair I had been over the course of its life, I finally decided to turn around and look it right in the face.

As soon as I did, I wished I hadn't. When I saw that red fire, perfectly in sync with a small, animal-like body, I wondered to myself, "What _is_ this?" He was a black and red creature with wrathful spikes coming out the back of his head in all directions. It looked like something created to be a super villain's pet! I took a step toward it and it backed away, showing its perfect yet lethal teeth in an oddly pleased smirk.

"My name is Maria. What do you want from me?" I asked when it showed no other reaction. Ha, as if it could talk.

"My name is Shadow. I was about to ask you the same thing." I froze and we stood like that for a million years, my mouth hanging open in shock. "I'm a hedgehog. Perhaps you know my creator, the professor?"

"...Gerald Robotnik?"

"Yes. Your grandfather."


	2. Filled with Nothingness

He explained to me. Everything. His life, so lonely, so cold. So painfully full of nothing.

"As far as I'm concerned," He told me, slowly closing his eyes, "Is that I live a life in the middle of nowhere, being nothing until some random scientist needs me for another test. I don't know anything else, but life must get... better than this somehow."

I looked long and hard at him, then slowly reached out to touch his shoulder. The fingertips of my right hand gingerly grazed his shoulder. It was warm and furry. "Creature," I said.

"Shadow." He corrected me.

"I don't know much else, either. But if I was on Earth right now, I would be facing a horrible fate. This is the only hope for me. You probably have more potential than I do." He opened his eyes like the words shocked him, but I stood in the same place, just solemnly staring at him. I knew this. I faced this thought everyday. I had come to terms with it.

"I'm sorry." He said steadily, "But what potential do I have, when all I know how to do is live the life of a project." He hardly said it like it was a question, like he was repeating something that he said before. Not often, I hoped. Likely often though, considering what he said next. "I can't escape, either. The scientists have learned to keep me away from sharp instruments.

I looked him in the eyes, and after a moment he asked, "What do you stare so intensely for?"

"I've never had a conversation like this. At least, not in a hundred million years."

"You humans must live a very long time. I'm eternal life, you know. We can be friends."

I laughed, realizing he didn't know what a hyperbole was. "Friends." I agreed. We shook hands.

"Great." Shadow said with a hint of a lopsided smile on his face, "A friend to make my boring world not quite as boring."

I smiled, deeply surprising myself. It wasn't until then that I realized how much I had forgotten what a smile felt like.

* * *

Shadow and I sat in my room. I had showed it to him, and he was amazed by how comfortable my bed was. He said creations had to sleep in cages back at the lab. We sat on my bed, doing work. I had school work that my grandfather assigned, and Shadow had tests to take that didn't have to be monitored. "Is a negative plus a negative also a negative?" I asked, knowing he wouldn't know the answer.

"I have no idea." He admitted, "Probably."

"Okay."

I marked "TRUE" on my paper.

"Am I required to focus Chaos Energy in or around me to preform a Chaos Blast?" Shadow asked.

"No idea." I admitted in response.

"Okay, I'm gonna put around, because, uh, hmm... Maybe it's in." He scribbled something onto his sheet of paper.

"Shadow?" I asked.

"Yes?"

"Thanks for keeping me company."

"What are friends for?" He asked with a sly smile, resulting in a femanine giggle from me.

I could get used to this.


	3. He Means Trouble

Sorry it took so long! I wasn't sure if I was going to continue this story, but now I have a lot of followers, so I decided not to delete it and to actually keep working on it. Again, so sorry!

* * *

The next morning, as I lied in my bed, my mind was in a whirlwind of thoughts. What was going to happen today? Could I really be with _him_ again? Maybe it was all a dream, too good to be true. I practically flew out of my bed as two sharp knocks schoed through my room. Was he at my door?

I flung the door open and my mouth turned up into a grand smile that I couldn't hold in. He smiled back at me, looking down nervously at the floor. Then he looked up briefly and flashed his dagger-like teeth. They were surprisingly white, like his gloves. Finally, he said, "So I came here for more than one reason."

"Okay." I urged him to go on.

"Well, the first reason is that you're pretty interesting. I want to get to know you better.

I was doing what I could not to press him any further. "And...?"

"And, the professor asked me to bring this to you." He handed me a note. It read,

_Maria,_

_As you know, Project Shadow began on the thirteenth of August, 1949. We are celebrating the eight-year anniversary of the project today. I know you never had an interest for the experiment, but I'd like you to come to the celebration in support of I, your grandfather. I'm also putting you in charge of making sure Shadow is in the designated location as well. It will be in the South Wing Lobby at ten o'clock antemeridian today._

_Sincerely,_

_Professor Gerald Robotnik_

For a moment I just stood there, pretending that the letter was longer than it was. I wasn't honestly sure how to react to that. I didn't really want to go, but it was for Shadow after all. "Your eyes have stopped moving, and your breathing has altered. May I ask what you're thinking?" He cocked his head to the side, curiously watching me.

"Well, it seems your birthday party's today."

Shadow's face showed the slightest of a smile. "Strange."

"Why?"

"I'm sixteen."

"No, you're eight."

"But... biologically..." He just shook his head after a slight pause. "Strange, isn't it?"

"I suppose life is confusing, Shadow."

He looked up. "I don't think it'll always be."

I grew confused. "What happened to our angsty discussion yesterday?"

He sighed. "As well as some rather thick ice, I think we've broken into some new hope."

"Meaning?"

"Hm. I, don't really know how to explain it, but, things seem so much... brighter with a friend." I tried not to laugh at the melancholy touch of his words, so I just put a hand on his shoulder. Something felt... right about the action, so I left it there. Until finally, he severed the mood. "Are you ready to go to my birthday party?" He said it playfully.

"What do _you_ think?" I retorted, letting him look me over as I dropped my arms at my sides. My hair was a mess, and I was in my nightgown.

"Okay, well get ready quickly."

"Alright. You can wait in here. I'll be in the bathroom."

I welcomed him into my room before grabbing some clothes and a towel from a white armiore as Shadow grabbed a book about trees from my bookshelf. I heard the squeak of bed springs as he took a seat and I shut the bathroom door. I smiled as I turned the faucet handle and watched the water poor down. That's when I realized that Shadow was becoming "cute" in my eyes. He was this young little anthropomorphic alien hedgehog, and yet I found a soft spot in my heart for his appearance and personality. "This must be what it's like to get a puppy for Christmas." I joked to myself mentally.

* * *

When I stepped back into my bedroom, ready to leave, Shadow was sitting in a pile of book spines and papers. "What have you done?!" I yelled, realizing that he had ripped all of my books to shreds.

"I'm sorry!" He shrieked, "But I-"

"I don't want to hear it!" I screamed, "Leave my room!"

I had heard Shadow talk about pain and misery, but never had I ever seen a look on his face that showed it. For once, I could tell that he was upset. His ears sagged horizontally on his head, and a look of bewilderment swept across his face as he took in my energy. "I didn't-"

"Please! Give me some peace!" I screamed. His skates came on with a click and paper flew everywhere as he dashed out of the room in a fraction of a second. It was the first time I had seen him use his rocket shoes, but fascination was no match for my rage.

I scrambled for all the papers and tried to sort them into different books, but there were so many. I glanced at the clock. Ugh.

9:15. I had to be at Shadow's birthday party in an hour. And as a bonus I had to find him beforehand. I picked up a piece of paper in despair, wondering why he had destroyed my most important possessions. Books were the way I learned about Earth.

Suddenly, I realized that there was a marker on the ground at my feet. A black marker. I picked it up and noticed that it belonged in a drawer near my bed, on the other side of the room. I looked on the floor near it, searching for a piece of paper that Shadow may have drawn on. I found one from my trees book that had the correct marker bleeding through from the other side. I turned it over to find that Shadow had created a picture in the blank space under the title letters. At first I thought it was supposed to be a hammerhead shark, but then I realized that I had seen it in pictures. It was Black Doom, the alien that my grandfather had made a deal with for the DNA to create Shadow. Then I saw that he had drawn a picture of the Black Comet, Black Doom's mother ship. "Why would this provoke Shadow to tear out all of these pages? Why did he draw a picture of his father in my book?"

I had no idea, but I knew there wasn't any time to be thinking about that, because Shadow and I had a party to be attending. I glanced at the clock. 9:20.

I needed to find Shadow, and fast.


	4. He's Not a Monster

I tucked the drawings into my pocket and slammed the door as I entered the hall. I decided to try the experient room first, just in case Shadow went back to his own chambers. Unfortunately for me, that was in the South Wing and I really didn't need anyone stopping me to ask where Shadow was.

So guess what Grandfather did when he saw me pass by?

"Where's Shadow?" He asked, "The party's starting soon."

"He ran off." I admitted softly.

"Why?" He asked, "What's wrong with the project?"

"It's a long story, but he ripped all the pages out of my Earth books. I yelled at him and he ran off. Grandfather, he drew this. do you have any idea why he did that?"

I took the creased piece of paper out of my shirt pocket and handed it to him. His expression turned solemn as he analysed the black markings. "Maria, we need to talk." He said slowly, motioning for me to go around the corner with him. When nobody was in sight, he began to explain. "Now before I say this, you have to understand that it was for a good cause." I nodded slowly, hoping he would make this short and sweet. "Well, Black Doom is the only immortal creature we knew about at the time. Shadow was created in the study of immortality, and so we used the DNA of Black Doom to make him. Meaning he is indeed a lot like Black Doom in many ways. For example, his colors are black and red, as are his father's, and Shadow's spikes bear a strong resemblence to Doom's Eye. Now, I need you to understand that these similarities aren't all just physical. They are mental as well."

"Grandfather, please get on with it." I pushed.

"I'm going to be straight forward with you, Maria. I was desperate, and I worked with Black Doom even though I know he hates the Earth. As much as Shadow can be taught differently and as much as he can love the inhabitants of that planet, he's going to have the urge to hate people, and to destroy them."

"That's not true!" I shouted in denial.

"It is! He's not here for his attitude, Maria! It's just in his blood!"

"I'm not gonna hear it!" I shouted, holding my hands over my ears. "He's so nice to me!"

"We love him for what he's going to bring us, Maria!" Grandfather yelled behind me as I walked away, "But not because of his other qualities!"

"I love everything about him!" I screamed, running now.

Finally, the experiment room came into view. I saw the big, white double doors getting closer and closer until I could finally seek refuge inside. I locked the doors and leaned against them, sliding to the floor. To my surprise, tears began to stream down my face. I was crying over the hedgehog I met yesterday. All I could think to say was, "What a world, what a world."

I glanced up at an analog clock nearby. 9:45. So much for racing time.

I looked around the huge room. There was a shrine of the Master Emerald near the back of the room, and quicksand ran in a river throughout the room, emptying into a huge circle. I watched as the Biolizard waded cheerfully through the sand. It wasn't even up to the tops of its feet, and the rivers were shallow, so it had no problem passing through. "Poor thing." I thought to myself. The few lights hanging from the three-story high ceiling that worked were constantly flickering, and it reminded me that the Biolizard was the origional and abandoned Project Shadow, although it seems content here anyway. "What. A. World." I thought again, also saying it aloud.

"Tell me about it." The low, masculine echo rang through my ears and adrenaline began to work its way through me. I couldn't even remind myself to be mad anymore. It was no use when I caught a glimpse of him.

Shadow stepped out from behind the stone shrine but didn't approach me. He didn't look as miserable as before, but his scowl looked rock-solid. His arms were crossed. "I love your attitude." The moment I uttered the words was the same moment I realized how out of place they sounded. A look of slight shock covered his face, and then an amused look, which erupted into malicious laughter.

"What!?" I demanded.

"That's what sarcasm is, right?" Was all he said in response.

"What? No! I'm being serious!"

"Well, look." His face turned hard again. "I heard you talking with the professor, and you defended me. So, thanks."

"He made you look like some kind of monster." I replied, "Which you're not."

Shadow looked down at the ground. "I _am_ a monster."

"What? No you're-"

"Bah!" He screamed in annoyance, "I COULDN'T CONTROL MYSELF! I just, destroyed those Earth books for DESTROYING THEM! I'm a destructive, meaningless, BEAST!"

He ran up to me, panting, his eyes bloodshot with rage. "Maria, why celebrate the day that a monster was created? Why don't you hate me like everyone else I've ever known?"

So many feelings were running through me. I wondered why I felt so horrible, just because he was clearly unhappy. I wondered why I wanted to tell him things were going to be okay, even though I didn't know if they really were. Then I felt sick to my stomach, because I realized that I liked him in a different way than I thought I did, and he's not even a human. Do I... like an _animal_ that way? Should I be ashamed?

_Is that sick?_

I couldn't be sure, but when he started sobbing I didn't care anymore. Before Shadow could object, I put my arms around him and whispered, "Because I love you."


	5. We Have Chemistry

Well, it wasn't the reaction I was expecting, but it's not like I'm complaining.

When I uttered the three perilous words, Shadow grabbed me by the shoulders and just, stared at me for a minute. What felt like hours began to pass while he stared into my eyes, my soul. All was silent, and I wondered what he was waiting for while I wallowed in the discomfort. I dared not speak, for I couldn't even tell whether his gaze was critical or not. His face showed absolutely no expression at all.

But then something started to take place that hollow stare. I could have sworn that for a split second, I saw a twinkle in his eye. Then, as his lips formed an awkward grin, he leaned in close to me, so close in fact, that our foreheads were nearly touching. Then he whispered, so silently that I wasn't sure if he had really said it, "I love you too." In the heat of the moment, he brought his lips to mine and we kissed, gently but passionately, locked in a steel embrace.

And at that moment, I knew this was the beginning of an epic chapter in my life. I also knew that it was a moment so incomparable to anything else in history that I wasn't sure what to do when we finally took a step back. I looked into his face to now see that the awkward grin had turned into a vibrant smile. His cheeks were flushed with red, and I could tell that mine were too.

"Um... Your party!" I remembered in an attempt to find any way out of more silence.

"Oh, uh, yeah! Let's go!" We were both so disoriented by the recent events. As we began to walk out of the huge room, I looked over at him. He had been peeking at me with one eye, but looked straight ahead as soon as I realized it. I was about to grab the door handle when he stepped in front of it. "Maria." He breathed, sighing, "I'm so sorry for being such a jerk. That wasn't cool of me."

"Hey, you were just upset. I might've done the same thing."

"No, but... I ruined _your_ things! And _I_ ran away! Why should _you_ get punished for that?"

"You're over thinking it!" I promised, "Besides, it's all behind us now."

He faced the door and looked down at the ground. "Alright, but..."

I grabbed his arm and turned him around. "Shadow! Do you remember what just happened?" I motioned to the shrine. "When I kissed you, I knew that nothing mattered anymore but that. It was the best moment of my life. Why would I do that if I still cared about the damn books?"

"Okay, alright..." He closed his eyes for a few seconds, probably collecting his thoughts. "Let's just go."

"Okay." I agreed.

"After you." He smiled half-heartedly, opening the door for me."

"Why, thank you!" I giggled, stepping into the hallway. I glanced at the clock before Shadow closed the door behind us. I gasped at its reading.

"What?" Shadow asked.

"It's 9:59! We're not going to make it to the party in time!"

"Yes we are." His eyes narrowed mischievously as he picked me up bridal-style.

"What are you-" Before I could fully react, we were flying down the hall at the speed of sound. I shut my eyes in fear, but before they were closed for a full second, we had stopped again.

"We're here!" Shadow said cheerfully as he set me down. "And we're early!"

The clock still read 9:59. "Amazing..." I breathed.

"Well, while we're waiting, let me fix your hair." Shadow reached up and patted down my wind-swept hair, and I laughed as he delicately tucked a lock behind my ear. Not only was _that_ humorous, but also the fact that he stood up on his toes to gingerly plant a kiss on my cheek.

I looked around us, embarrassed. We weren't near any people yet, so nobody had seen the project kiss the lead researcher's granddaughter, thank God. "What am I, your grandma?" I joked, wanting more than a kiss on the cheeks.

He chuckled, then pulled me down by my shoulders so that we were at eye level. He cocked his head to the side and we shared a similar kiss to the first one, losing ourselves in the moment again. Suddenly, a shrill "Maria!" could be heard from nearby. We pushed away as fast as possible, not wanting to explain that to Grandfather.

When he approached us, he was wearing a tuxedo instead of a lab coat, and I was relieved that I wore a dress today. Shadow looked down at his slick black fur. It was matted and messy, like he'd just gotten out of bed. "Um, I'm gonna go freshen up. Be right back!" He called, running to the bathroom. Then it was just Grandfather and I, and that really couldn't have been more awkward. I didn't talk to him much, because he was usually working on a big project.

"You look happy." He commented. I wiped the idiotic grin off my face as soon as I realized its presence. "Why?" He wondered, "I mean, not that you shouldn't be, it's just that, well, you're not usually very happy."

"Oh, uh, well, I made a friend."

"What? How-" Suddenly, a wave of understanding crossed his face. "Oh! You've befriended the project! That explains why you came here with him! How cute!"

"Yeah...uh-huh..." I avoided all eye contact. This was just getting painful.

"In fact, when I came over here you two were... hugging, was it? That's an odd relationship."

"Well, who are you to judge? It's my life, Grandfather!" I immediately regretted my tone of voice, for I could see the hurt on his face. I looked over and saw Shadow coming back from the restroom. "Grandfather, I'm, I didn't mean to be so disrespectful."

"It's okay... I mean, you're twelve. It's a very bumpy road ahead, what with hormones and puberty..." Yep, couldn't be more awkward. that's a given.

"Hey!" Shadow had come back. "Can I change the topic?"

"Yes." I replied.

"Sorry to invade. You two have fun!"

He waved goodbye sheepishly, obviously excited about my new "friend".

"So..." Shadow shifted his weight from foot to foot. "I could hear what the professor was saying from across the room. That's... pleasant." So, Shadow was using sarcasm now. He must have picked it up from me or something.

"Hah. You shouldn't be talking though. Is that supposed to be a bowtie?"

"Hey, it was a last resort decision!" He had tried to tie a bowtie that looked like a ripped-up pillow case. "I ripped a strip of fabric off a curtain in the bathroom and tied it around my neck. You should be happy that I'm trying to look nice."

"Why?"

"I don't know! Just help me with it!"

"Okay, just, hold still!" I untied it and made it a neater bowtie, though it still looked ridiculous. A female scientist suddenly rushed over to us.

"Is that the best you've got in clothes?" She laughed.

"Yeah, what's it to you?" Shadow asked.

"Well, you look hilarious! I made you a tux, you know!"

"Why?" We both said in unison. This night was beginning to turn into a cheesy movie.

"It's my birthday gift to you! Here, I'll go get it and be right back!" She ran over to her table and came back with a blue and green gift box. Shadow ripped the bow off with his razor-sharp teeth and threw the lid behind him, leaving me to pick up the scraps. The scientist watched us curiously, anxious to see Shadow's reaction. He pulled it out of the box with one hand and held it up. It was a black tux, complete with a red cummerbund and, thankfully, a bowtie. I sighed with relief.

He left for the bathroom again, and I looked down at myself. Now _I _was underdressed. I figured nobody would notice if I slipped out for a second or two. I ran back to my room after the scientist left and looked in a mirror next to the armiore. My hair wasn't too bad, but my dress was red and yellow, and ended just below my knee. Way too casual. I flung open the wooden door and found a long white gown with a light pink, sparkly ribbon. "Why do I have _this_?" I wondered aloud, not sure where it came from. Didn't matter though, because Shadow was probably going to come out of the bathroom and see my absence any second now. I threw the dress on and yanked a brush through my hair. I was about to leave when I saw a slight twinkle in the back of my armoire, under where the dress used to be. It was a sparkly pink headband to match the ribbon on the dress. "You've got to be kidding me." I muttered, deciding to put hairpiece on for the heck of it. When I looked in the mirror, I couldn't help feeling like an idiot. This really wasn't my style, but I didn't have any other choice. I suddenly began to hear a low chuckle in the open doorway. I glanced over to see Shadow. "What the heck are you doing? Where you watching me change?!" I scrambled to shut the door, when he put his foot in the way.

"No, of course not! I just noticed you were gone and came over. I didn't see anything, I swear!"

"Alright, come on in, then."

"I just want to put this out there; you look... so stunning." He breathed, "Truly gorgeous."

"Wow, thanks..." I could feel the heat in my face as it reddened. "Wanna go back to the party?"

"Not really."

"Well, we have to." He sighed in response. "Is something wrong?" I asked.

"No, I'm just stalling, I guess." He admitted, "I hate crowds, but I especially hate the ones gathered for _me_."

"As much as I feel the same way, they probably know you're missing, and we should go back. People put a lot of time and effort into setting it up and stuff, so..." I opened the door and motioned for him to go. "Ladies first." I joked. He didn't seem to get the humor as he walked out into the hallway. "Don't be a grump." I muttered, "We'll go back as a team."

We locked hands and headed back into the merciless dungeon: Shadow's birthday party.


	6. The Truth Comes Out

Shadow took my hand in his as we walked down the hall. I gave one final, longing glance behind us as the bedroom door began to leave my range of vision. We both sighed as Shadow opened the door for me. I stepped in, and he followed. Luckily, no one seemed to notice our absence - except the scientist from before. "Where'd you guys go?" She asked frantically, "I was looking all over for you! And at Shadow's own party, too!"

"Sorry, I needed to change into something more formal." I explained.

"I went to see what was taking her so long." Shadow admitted, stepping out from behind me.

"I need to talk to you two." She said in a fast, agitated tone of voice. We reluctantly followed her into a far corner of the decorated lobby. "Look," She began, "I know something's up with you two." I hoped she couldn't see my eyes widen. "And it's great if you guys have become acquaintances. Friends, even."

"So?" Shadow asked, the boredom in his voice obvious.

"But, you're not just friends."

Shadow and I exchanged horror-filled glances, then looked back to her. "How do you know?" I whispered, hoping she would carry out the conversation a little more quietly.

"Call me a snoop, but I've taken it up as my duty to monitor Shadow."

"Monitor me?" His voice contained a suspicious edge.

"For how long?" I added.

"For a... while now." We didn't retort, just waited for her to continue. "I remember when Shadow was created." She turned to him. "I helped with the development stages while you were in that stasis tube." She turned to me. "I also remember the first day you were told about the project. I remember Professor Robotnik trying to get you to see him. I remember his final days of stasis, and how you still refused to care. I remember you putting your hand on that doorknob, the one to the laboratory, and deciding to walk in the other direction instead. You just couldn't bring yourself to enter that room. I'll never know why, but you couldn't. I remember seeing you through a window in the laboratory on Shadow's last day in stasis. You walked up to the glass and stared in for a few seconds, not appearing to take any notice of Shadow. Then you ran in the other direction. Do you remember that?"

"I nodded slowly."

"Well," She continued, "when I looked back at Shadow, his eyes were open. As soon as I realized that meant he was breathing - and suffocating, I reached for the lever that released him. Little did I know, I didn't need to." I looked over at Shadow as this scientist told her story, and Shadow's eyes were closed. He had his head in his hands. Suddenly, he spoke.

"I'll tell the rest of the story, Della." I was taken aback with shock, and our storyteller clearly was too.

"Y-you remember that?"

"Well, it's coming back to me." He turned to me. "By natural instinct, I broke out of that glass chamber. It was filled with disgusting green liquid that was thick and heavy, pulling down on me. I shattered the glass with one hand and jumped out, feeling air for the first time. My first moment was a great one, feeling like I had escaped some sort of sleep paralysis. Anyway, I ran toward the direction that I saw you in, but I hit the glass of course."

"He broke it, though." Della added, "I saw bloody gashes in his skin disappear before my very eyes, and I knew we had successfully created immortality. He had an amazing red aura surrounding him, like a visible rage. The professor had told me about his studies of Chaos Energy, and how he had designed Shadow to have an infinite flow of it. Luckily, I had already designed his inhibitor rings."

"Well, I didn't put them on without a fight, I'll admit that." Shadow laughed, "They needed fifteen scientists to wrestle me to the ground and tranquillize me. When I woke up, I was wearing shoes, gloves, and inhibitor rings. The shoes, by the way, took SO long to get used to." They both laughed, clearly sharing an inside joke.

"Those rocket soles aren't easy to maneuver in..." Della muttered, "Anyway, it appears I've gotten side-tracked. My point was originally that I knew there was something up with you and Shadow from the start. And then he began to follow you around wherever you went, so it was a situation that was becoming snoop-worthy. And suddenly, I also don't know your reasons for this, but you just demanded an explanation for his actions. A few days passed, and here we are now."

"So..." I trailed off, not sure how to say it.

"Why do you think we're a couple?" Shadow asked, finishing my sentence for me.

"Because I was spying on you, remember? And I'm pretty good at it. I saw you two kissing at the model shrine."

Shadow and I tried to shrug off our tomato-red faces. Shadow finally said, "Yeah, so we are. You caught us, okay?" He took my hand in his, as he'd done before.

"That could be... dangerous." She said.

"Why?" We both asked.

"Because, Maria," She turned to me, "I'm going to be straight with you. This is a government project that you're in a relationship with. If they decided to, oh, I don't know, discard him for some reason, this is going to end in heartbreak. And Shadow," She turned to him, "Maria is really sick. Did she tell you that?"

Shadow's face turned to pure shock. The purest look of shock I had ever seen on him. A look so confused, so scared-looking, so startled, that I wasn't sure what to make of it. He turned to me slowly. "What?" He asked softly, the smallest sounding word I had ever heard him utter.

"That's right." Della said sternly, "Tell him, Maria. Tell him all about Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome."

"What?" He repeated, his voice cracking and his eyes turning solemn. He grabbed my right hand in both of his.

"... Remember the first day I met you, and I was telling you that I don't have any potential on Earth?"

"Yes."

"I... would die painfully from a disease if I were to walk the Earth. My immune system doesn't work like it should.

"Pfft. More like doesn't work at all." Della commented.

"Hey, shut up!" Shadow yelled at the top of his lungs. The whole crowd turned to look at us and he dropped my hand. Slowly, the noise that had dissipated began to rise in volume again, and faces turned back away from us. That was close.

"I didn't mean to ruin you two's night," Della apologized, "but you are both in so much danger that I promise your relationship will end in heartbreak."

"That's not true!" Shadow backfired, "I'll be a cooperative project, and Maria won't go to Earth! Problem solved!"

"Oh, yeah, because Maria's going to live a full life anyway..." She said sarcastically, walking away, "Don't say I didn't warn you!"

"You can have your idiotic tuxedo back!" Shadow yelled, ripping the bowtie off his neck and throwing it at her.

"Keep it! It's yours!" She yelled in reply before disappearing into the crowd. I walked up to the bowtie and snatched it from the linoleum floor.

As I approached Shadow, he asked, "Why the hell didn't you tell me?"

As I tied the bowtie back around his neck, I said, "Honestly, it didn't come to mind. After all the enchanting moments I've had with you, I forgot about my real life. My horrible life."

"I believe you." He sighed, "I did too."

I kissed him lightly, "let's just party. C'mon."

"Okay. Fine. But I can't dance."

"And you think _I_ can?"

"Good point." We ran to the dance floor and I jumped up and down to the beat of the music. Shadow just stared, amused.

"Okay, so I _really_ can't dance." I admitted as the song ended. Shadow just continued to smirk at me. Suddenly, my favorite song came on. It was a ballad. Shadow eyed me suspiciously when everyone began to pair up.

"I'm not going to dance with you." He said simply, taking a step back. To both our dismay, he bumped into my grandfather.

"You two aren't dancing!" He said, "Come on! Have fun!"

"I don't have a partner." I whined.

"Hm... Just pair up with Shadow! You don't mind, right?" He asked my friend.

"Uh, no, I don't mind." Shadow gave in, not wanting to defy his creator. He rolled his eyes as we took each other's hands.

"That's not how you slow dance!" A woman commented, "Shadow, you put your right hand on Maria's waist, and Maria, you put your left hand on Shadow's shoulder. There, perfect!" When the woman left, we were properly dancing.

"This is... fun."

"I know you're lying." I commented, watching Shadow's disgusted expression. "Why don't you like dancing? Don't you like music?"

Shadow shrugged, answering only with, "I'm not interested."

We stood like that awkwardly as people around us shifted, twirled and dipped. When the music slowed to a stop, Shadow over-eagerly dragged me off the dance floor. We sat down at a table and I crossed my legs, sitting up straightly and properly. Shadow slumped over his lap with an arched back, his chin pressing into his palm. "It wasn't that bad, you baby!" I teased, "It was just a dumb dance!"

"It was embarrassing."

"You're such a buzz kill."

"Oh yeah? Fine, if you want to think that, I'll just have to prove you wrong." He announced, sitting up and meeting my eyes. Another ballad began to play. "Later." He added, getting up from the table and walking away.

"Where do you think _you're_ going?" I asked, running up and walking next to him.

"To the snack table." When we arrived, he poured two glasses of fruit punch and handed one to me. He then grabbed a chocolate chip cookie in his free hand and took a bite of it.

"You're such a peppy birthday boy, aren't you?" I continued to tease him, and he teased back.

"Look, this would be a lot easier if you weren't trying to get me to dance like an idiot." Maybe a little too harshly, though.

I sighed. "Whatever, Shadow."

"Maria, don't get me wrong. I'm having fun." As monotonous as his voice was, I believed him. He was my crazy little Shadow, after all.

"You know, the name 'Shadow' suits you so well." I commented. He cocked his head to the side.

"Why?"

"Because your whole life, all you've done is follow me around, _just like a shadow_."

He gave a slight nod and leaned back against the table. "What can I say? Maybe we're connected. Better yet though, maybe you're just _special_."

I chuckled sarcastically. "Yeah, right..."

He quickly looked around to see if anyone was peering in our direction. It was just Della. She was giving us a quizzical look. Not caring, Shadow hugged my waist. Feeling like a mother with her child, I bent down to match his height. He stroked the back of my hair and kissed my cheek. I looked behind us and saw that Della was now glaring, but I didn't care. I was getting lost in the moment. In a soft whisper, Shadow said, "Well, you're special to _me_."

* * *

_A/N: Hello, fans of Shadow and Maria! I'm just going to say something really fast: I'm not sure if I like the name of this fanfic. If you plan to leave a comment (and please do), just quickly state whether or not you think it could use a name change. I would love suggestions for a new one, and if I get a few great ideas that I can't decide on, I'll put them in a poll for you guys to vote on! Thanks for reading!_

_-TheVideoGamer_


	7. With All of His Heart

Sorry for all the delay, guys. I've been going through some serious writer's block lately and I'm almost completely over it, but here's a fair warning: This chapter is mostly fluff except for an encounter with a certain antagonizing someone. Enjoy, though!

* * *

As the party dragged to a close, Shadow and I made a mad dash for the hallway, but were caught by Della on the way out. "Hey! Get back here!" She called furiously as we left, "You know what you're doing is wrong!"

We turned around sharply and Shadow growled, "What are you trying to do? Get me euthanized? Someone's going to hear you!"

"Good. You stopped." She stood up straighter and I sighed very obviously, making it known that I wanted to leave. "Look," she said in a softer voice, "I _will_ tell somebody about you two. Don't think I'm bluffing. I worked on Project Shadow for years, so I know how easy it is to piss him off."

Shadow bared his fangs and grabbed me by the wrist. "Oh please." he muttered, trying to lead me away.

"Wait." I refused to move until he turned around. "She has a point."

He sighed similarly to as I had done before. "What do you want from us, Della?"

"I think this is sick! It's bestiality for God's sake! So I'm going to say it again, but this is the last time. I. WILL. EXPOSE. YOU. TWO. I swear."

"You can try." Shadow countered, "But you're never stopping us from being together." By now, I was thankful that the lobby was empty except for us three, because Shadow grabbed my hand and kissed it. "As melancholy as it sounds, it's the cold truth. Besides, even if we're exposed and separated, I'll always have a way to get to Maria. And we can still be together. For as long as we fricking want. So screw off."

At first I wasn't sure if it was just me who was shocked, but then I saw the expression on Della's face. It was no longer strong and powerful, it was weak and unsettled. But then it suddenly became hard and angry. Her eyes narrowed and she stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind herself.

After a few seconds of silence I clapped quietly while Shadow looked proud of himself. Then I laughed. "That was quite the impassioned speech you gave there. Where did that come from?"

"Thought of it on the spot. But what did you expect me to say? 'Okay, you're right Della, we'll just never look at each other again'?"

"No, I-"

"Doesn't matter." He interrupted me, "I think we scared her off. Sorry she was such a nuisance, I haven't seen her in a while."

"Why did you stop seeing her anyway?" I asked.

"Well, she has a tendency to purposefully mess things up when she's angry, and she even got demoted once. This is a great example of that behavior."

"Really?" I wondered, "What else has she messed with?"

"Well, one time when I had only been out of the chamber for about two months, she put on a coat and made it negative six degrees Celsius in the lab for a week. Scientists were complaining that they wouldn't go inside, but the professor wasn't there because he was sick and she was the only other person permitted to use the thermostat."

"Oh my God! What did you do?" I asked, watching a sly smile begin to pervade his face.

"I bit her."

"... Why?"

"I was mad! Another time, she was trying to fix one of my rocket shoes and I flew into a wall. And honestly, I had a right to punish her for both times. If I wasn't the Ultimate Life Form, that impact probably would have killed me! Not to mention that I would've gotten frostbite or something that other time!"

"Well don't worry, she's not in charge of you anymore." I promised, hugging him close to me and kissing the top of his head.

"She's not in charge of _us_." He corrected me, looking up with a joyous expression on his face.

"Uh-huh. Yeah. This is becoming a little dramatic." I said under my breath.

He apparently heard me because he squirmed out of my grip and responded, "I couldn't agree more."

I laughed again, and this time he laughed along with me. The stressful day was taking a positive turn. "It's only three o' clock. Wanna do something now?" I asked.

"Sure, but one last kiss before we have to go back out into the public again." Shadow requested.

"Sure." I gave him a kiss on the lips, and he kissed me back. It lasted a few seconds before we backed away, and I wished it wasn't over. "I suppose the words 'I love you' lost all meaning when it was the first thing I said that displayed my attraction for you," I commented, "but I really want you to know that I love you."

Shadow couldn't help but smile a bit. "The first time you told me that was this morning, wasn't it?" He teased, "And I met you yesterday, correct?"

"Uh, yes." It sounded ridiculously goofy to say aloud, but it was true. We had both proclaimed our love for each other the day after we even began interacting. "But there was always something there." I replied, "Something between us. Something that compelled you to follow me around, and something that told me to let you do so. There was always that same something that brought our two worlds together, no matter how, whether it was speaking, embracing, kissing, or simply being in the same room."

His face became soft and serious. "That's true. That's so true."

And then we kissed again. This time very passionately. I bent down slightly and my fingers interlocked behind his neck, while his hands sifted through my hair.

When the kiss was over, he looked up into my eyes and said, "I've also said this before, but I love you too." He closed his eyes and leaned his head forward ever so slightly, so that our foreheads were touching.

"With all of my heart."


	8. What is Love?

Finally, finally finally finally, we were leaving that lobby.

I couldn't even express my emotions at the time, because I wasn't even sure what they were. I was feeling good about myself for standing up against Della with Shadow(or just watching his brave performance, whatever), I had a slight shaky feeling that seemed to be the aftermath of our romantic moment, and then, of course, there was the sheer joy of leaving that lobby.

Despite that though, as we began to get further from the lobby, my mind wandered. I tried to avoid the inevitable question in my mind, but that was obviously futile.

"_What is Della going to do now?"_

Frankly, I had know idea. So I considered asking Shadow. But no. I couldn't do that, right?

So when we got back to my room, I shut the door and sat down on the bed in my spot next to Shadow. He put his arm around me and craned his neck to kiss me. As much as I didn't want to, I inched away. We needed to talk more about Della, so I brought it up. "Do you think Della's going to plan something? I mean, she looked pretty strange. Well, you get what I mean. What do you think she's up to?"

He laid down onto my bed and sighed, exhausted of the subject. "Eh, nothing interesting. She's a random scientist. I'm the Ultimate Life Form. You're my girlfriend. She can't hurt us. I'd never let her hurt _you_."

"Well, what do you think she would do if she was going to do something?"

"Um... I really don't know. Maybe she'd, just go to the professor. That's simple and easy. But, of course, she probably won't because that's the sane way out. She's delusional, if you forgot."

"Well, it's kind of on my mind." Silence. "Shadow, if something were to happen to me -"

"Don't talk that way!" He got up and faced the wall with his arms crossed. Typical Shadow, avoiding the situation.

"I'm going to finish my sentence whether you like it or not." Drawing in a deep breath, I started over. "If something were to happen to me, like, I don't know, something that would involve me going to die. Like, you can't save me or anything. Then I want you to kill me, so I don't have to suffer any longer, okay?"

"Maria, shut-"

"I'm serious. I would want you to kill me-"

"SHUT UP!" He yelled, covering his ears, "Shut up, shut up, shut up!" I grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him around to see tears streaming down his face.

"You have to promise me this. Okay?"

He wiped his eyes, embarrassed. "Fine. But only because nothing's ever going to happen to you."

"Good. Then let's drop it now."

* * *

Della didn't bother us for a while after that. We never saw her around the ARK, and we did nothing but cultivate our affection towards each other for the past several months. Of course, that meant that my grandfather was certainly growing his suspicions, also considering we'd made it pretty obvious in the past. We were in a happy, healthy, steady relationship and things seemed to be really smooth. Though sometimes, I could see a little glint in Shadow's eyes. An occasional something that I would catch when he looked at me. A hint of worry, maybe? A need to protect me? It was a sternness and a heavy-heartedness at the same time. Something so confusing and indecipherable that you would only see it on the face of Shadow the Hedgehog.

Later, in the beginning of February, Shadow and I sat side-by-side, resting against my bed's backboard. We were doing the same type of work that we had been doing the day I met him. Math for me, attack chemistry for him. Or so I thought, anyway. After I had finished, I decided not to announce it but to do some snooping and sneak a glance at his paper. To my surprise, he wasn't doing homework at all. He was writing something. I saw lines, no, stanzas of words.

"Hey! That's private!" He said in a joking voice as he yanked the paper from my view, but I knew he was dead serious.

"Sorry." I admitted, pretending to go back to my own page as he continued to scribble madly. My efforts had not been futile, though, for I had made out two fascinating arrangements of letters.

_"Love is"_

I thought about it for a half-second and knew what he was doing. But then I wondered to myself,

_what is love?_

It was only at that moment when I really thought about it that I realized I wasn't quite sure. Wasn't I feeling it right now? We _had_ only been dating for a few months though. Maybe this was all actually just a crush, and I mistook it for love because I didn't know what love really was. It didn't take me long after that to think an unthinkable question.

_Are we just a fling?_

* * *

_Hey Guys! It's TheVideoGamer here, and I was wondering if you guys were ready for a HUGE plot twist! Is Maria having doubts for Shadow? I Della plotting a reappearance? Find out in the next chapter!_

_In other news, I just wanted to tell you guys that I'm really sorry that I haven't been really committing to this story lately, but that's all about to change. I promise. You see, I have SO many projects that I'm working on right now, including recording Youtube videos, producing movies, writing screenplays, writing my original novel, AND writing fan fiction like this one, so I've realized that I need to suck in a breath and relax for a minute before I explode. Oh, and all that's not to mention that I my orchestra has a concert and I have a violin recital to go to next week, so I've been working on my music in the little gaps of freetime I have. Oh, and ALSO, the reason I'm working on this at 9:55 PM is that I spent my whole day doing assignments so I could go to the pool with my friends for Memorial Day weekend! So I know, the "I'm busy" excuse has probably gotten WAY PAST old to you guys, but it's the honest truth. I'm sorry. But like I said, it's time to pause my other crazy projects and write a little of Be My Shadow!_

_One last thing. If you're enjoying this story, please leave a comment. I've been so pleased with the reviews I've gotten for this story and my face lights up every time I see "New Review for: Be My Shadow" in my email. When I realized what kind of feedback you guys have been giving me, I had a heavy heart and confidence in myself, not to mention encouragement for the next chapter and chapters to come. So in a way, it all bubbles down to this: the more you review, the more I write! And don't feel obligated to write something really nice just because I'm telling you this. All comments are welcome, whether they be pure motivation or much-needed constructive criticism, and I'm perfectly happy with you even if you just write "it was good" or "I liked this part". It'll always put a smile on my face and make my whole day better, so write on, People! (:_


	9. What am I Supposed to Do?

The following morning, I woke up to three sharp knocks at my door. I groggily lifted my head from the pillow and muttered, "Come in."

"It's locked." Shadow called out.

"Ugh. Fine. Hold on a second." I let my head fall back into the pillow, and I began to notice how soft and comfortable my bed was. Just a result of not wanting to get up, of course. Stalling furthermore, I glanced at my clock. Upon seeing the time, my eyes shot open. I jumped from my bed and unlocked the door, throwing it open shortly after. "Shadow, it's four in the morning! What the hell?"

"Sorry, I couldn't sleep." His eyes were sparkling rubies, and he looked so happy he could have been giving off an aura of pleasantness. A blissful smile fell so shockingly on his face he looked like he was made of plastic. "I was thinking about you." He explained.

At that moment I realized he was holding something behind his back. "What are you-"

"Happy Valentine's Day!" He suddenly blurted out, making me jump.

"Shadow, I'm not really in a super romantic mood." I glanced in my mirror and got a whiff of my horrible bedhead. "So how about we just go back to bed and celebrate in daylight?"

"I think you'll change your perspective once you see this." He pulled his right hand from behind his back and revealed to me a flower.

A _flower_.

I stood there in shock for a moment, wondering if it was fake. "It's real." He assured me, seemingly reading my thoughts, but probably just my facial expression.

"I, I..." I had no idea what to say, but realized it didn't matter since I could hardly speak. My throat went dry, and I reached out for it, my hands hovering a few inches from it on both sides. I wanted to touch it and yet I didn't. I was afraid I would ruin its magnificence with my imperfection. It was like a link to heaven. No, it was a link to Earth. To the planet I watched everyday with longing and desire.

I tried to take a few deep breaths, but the shock wouldn't go away. "Go ahead, take it. It's all yours." Shadow promised me. Ever so gingerly, I clasped my right thumb, index, and middle finger around the wondrously green stem and brought it closer to my face, studying every petal. I had read about this type of flower in my books. It was a rose. A red rose. The symbol of love. Upon the thought of love, I realized that maybe everything I had been thinking the night before was probably untrue. This was love. We were surely in love.

Finally, I managed to get a mangled, choked word to leave my lips. "Shadow..." I looked up at him and watched his look of glee. He looked even better than before, like he was feeding off of my wonder and sheer excitement. His eyebrows were raised and his toothy smile stretched ear to ear. I laughed slightly, enjoying how weird the expression looked on him, then quickly brought my attention back to the mesmerizing item in my hands.

"How?" I asked.

"New scientist. She arrived late last night from Earth with a planter bowl full of these. I jumped at the opportunity and she cut one for me, since she said they wouldn't survive long without the right lighting anyway, which she apparently doesn't have in her room here. Oh, but she said to avoid the thorns, so be careful."

When he was done talking I realized I was crying tears of joy. I tried to wipe them away with my free hand but I knew there was no way for him not to notice. "Shadow..." I repeated, "You couldn't have given me a better gift. Thank you so much." He wrapped his arms around me and I buried my face in the top of his head. "This is the greatest thing I've ever held, besides you."

He chuckled. "Who you should really be thanking is Elizabeth. She lives in room 106-A. Goes by Izzie."

"Okay. Let's go. right now." I said suddenly, lifting my head from his quills.

"Like that? Don't you usually shower and change and do your hair?"

"Doesn't matter right now, c'mon!" I exclaimed, already dashing into the hall through the open door.

"Fine, I'm right behind you. Wait, it's four in the morning!"

But I was already gone.

Now it was Izzie's turn to be woken to three sharp knocks. The woman to answer the door had long red hair that was so light it had some slightly blonde strands mixed in. Her most prominent feature was her eyes. One was a dark bluish green while the other was a cloudy sky. Not white, but just barely a blue. Shadow's face had returned almost completely to normal on the trek to her room, but when she answered the door his complexion was bright again. I couldn't help but notice this.

"Hello, Have you not slept yet?" He asked with curiosity.

She glanced down at her wrinkled street clothes. She was the first person I had seen beside myself who wasn't wearing a lab coat. Even my grandfather always wore his. She must have been so new that she hadn't received hers yet. "Well, no. I've been unpacking. I'm the work-now-relax-later kind of person." She glanced over to me. "Oh, hello! You must be the one I gave Shadow the flower for! I can tell _you've_ slept!"

I gave a chuckle. "Couldn't wait to meet you." I held the flower to my nose and breathed in its sweet scent. It was just like I imagined and I closed my eyes, getting lost in the moment.

"Magical, isn't it? That's why I love flowers so much. I'm so excited to work here, but I wish I didn't have to give up gardening. Unfortunately that flower will probably only last about a week, if you put it in water of course."

"I have to put it in water? Why?" I asked.

"It will be soaked up through the stem and help the flower to survive. Don't you know they need water, just like you and me?" Her look of confusion was immediately replaced with a look of regret. "Oh, sorry. I've studied up on the people here. I know about your..."

"Disease." I finished for her, "Don't worry, it's old news."

An awkward silence followed, and after a few seconds Shadow decided to break the ice.

"So tell us about Earth."

"Sure! Come on in." She held the door open for us and we entered her room. It was a little larger then mine but there was no connected bathroom. Also, there were three single beds against the wall facing Earth, backed against the wall-sized window. She only had two suitcases that were open on top of the farthest bed. I walked over to the suitcases and saw that one of them was filled with pictures.

Pictures of Earth.

"May I look at these?"

"Sure!"

I grabbed one off the top and saw that it was the black and white image of a neighborhood. There were rows and rows of big, rectangular houses with automobiles in the driveways. Bushes and trees were on every lawn and there was a group of kids playing some kind of sport in the street. The sun was shining, and out of the very corner of the image, you could see a small grey circle in the sky. "There's us." I pointed. Shadow walked over and grabbed my hand. He kissed it and looked at the picture with me.

"Wow, that's stunning."

"Yeah, it was nice." Izzie said as she joined us at the picture. "There's me." She put her finger on a young girl holding a ball. "We were playing a sport called kickball."

"Interesting." Shadow muttered under his breath. "Oh, wait a second! I never formally introduced you two! Maria, this is Izzie. Izzie, this is my girlfriend Maria."

I pulled my eyes from the picture to shake her hand, then went quickly back to the framed piece of artwork. After looking at a variety of flowers and nature scenes, Izzie began to vividly describe her childhood and experiences on Earth. I was sucked in and for a while, and even felt like I was living a normal life through her. Until of course, it was six, and that's when the scientists were supposed to report to their duties.

"Oh, wow! Time really flew but it looks like I have to go." Izzie said in her bubbly tone. She yawned. "I can't believe I didn't sleep at all last night! Oh well. I'll go to bed as soon as I get off my shift today."

"Can we walk with you to the lab?" Shadow asked, putting an arm around my waist.

"I'd love that!" She said in her excitable tone.

As we walked through the hallway, we saw scientists passing by in a hurry. They were wearing protective suits, like they would use to handle extremely toxic materials. "I wonder what they're doing." I mumbled. Shadow nodded his head in agreement.

"This is so exciting!" The new scientist exclaimed.

When we reached the doors to the laboratory, we said our goodbyes and Izzie charged in. As we turned to leave, we heard someone yell and a scream. Shadow's sharp ears and reflexes allowed him to act before me, but the time it took him to turn around was too much. I felt an intense heat behind me and was suddenly thrown forward. I heard Shadow shout my name but he couldn't reach me and I couldn't see him. With a loud crash I blacked out.

When I woke up, my ears were ringing so loudly I couldn't hear a thing. I tried to lift my head to look around and caught a glimpse of the metal door that had hit me with excruciating force and had fallen on top of me before I fell unconscious again.

The second time I woke up, I could see two things: Shadow running toward me with my grandfather and a fleet of paramedics, and the rose I had been carrying, its stem destroyed and its petals scattered around the hall. A tear fell down my cheek and onto the floor, and the ringing in my ears had gone down. The only thing I could hear above the screeching tone in my head was Shadow's blood-curdling scream. I laid my head back down again and decided that if Shadow was this terrified, there was probably not much hope left. Not for me, or Earth, or that stupid myth of true love.

There wasn't much left for me to do after thinking that thought, so I just mumbled over and over until I blacked out for the last time the same six words:

"What am I supposed to do?"


	10. Bliss of Ignorance

When I opened my eyes, I was in the clinic. I could recognize some of the nurses walking in and out of the room, but I pretended to still be asleep as one walked by. I figured I would get a lot more peace without my grandfather running in and telling everyone to come see me or something. That didn't really sound like him, but I just didn't have the energy to deal with anyone right now.

Then I noticed Shadow.

I turned my head to the left and heard the cardiac monitor spike. It went from a steady _beep, beep, beep_ to a sudden _beepbeepbeep _when I saw him lying on top of the blankets, fast asleep. I could hear his steady purr and turned my body so I was facing him. For a spontaneous explosion victim, I felt an immense tranquility at this moment. Even though he was fast asleep, it didn't sound unlike him to want to stay by my side and "protect" me.

I lifted my right hand to stroke his face and saw that my hand was covered in small cuts from debris and had cords protruding from it. That lifted me from my peace for a second because it was a rather grotesque sight, but I soon sank back into the covers and proceeded to caress Shadow's soft cheek. I watched as he lifted his heavy eyelids and whispered my name.

"Maria, you're okay." He said it with a lazy smile on his face.

"I'm absolutely fine. What happened anyway?" I asked, realizing I hadn't even wondered before now.

"Apparently Della was leading a research team on some sort of new bomb. That's what the fancy suits were for. Sadly," He hesitated for a moment before continuing. "Elizabeth walked right into the room, passed out from the sudden exposure to harmful chemicals and hit the table where the bomb sat. The rest is pretty self-explanatory."

"Oh." was all I could say. All I could think. I didn't even get to know this person before she was gone. She could have shared so much more with us about Earth, and she was so young too. But then I remembered that she was still luckier than me. I knew for a fact that I was going to die young from my disease. At least she didn't have to live with that fact for the whole of her life. "At least she had the bliss of ignorance." I whispered.

"At least." Was all he said in reply, reaching an arm out to hug me. I put an arm around him in response, and we laid like that for a while, holding each other and listening to our breathing. Every once in a while he would kiss me on the lips and chuckle as the monitor stirred in a frenzy of beeps. After about ten minutes had passed, he suddenly sprang out off of the bed and bolted out of the room. "Be right back!" He yelled, the sound reaching me after he was already out of sight. As I waited for him to return, I wondered if he was getting the poem I had seen him writing the night before. The thought of him reading me a poem seemed so cute, so enchanting. I wished I could give him something for Valentine's Day.

Then it hit me.

I didn't get him anything! _Anything! _I felt my cheeks turn red and I began to burn with heat.

_What do I give him? I've already gotten him worried about me and destroyed that beautiful flower! _I thought to myself. _Oh, I know! I'll write my own poem!_ In an attempt to find some paper and a pen, I ransacked every nook and cranny of that room that was in arm's reach. I pulled out all the drawers and moved everything off the tables near the bed until I found the writing supplies I was desperate for. I knew he would be back any minute, or even any second, so I mindlessly just started scribbling down words. This is what I came up with.

_When I'm alone in the dark_

That's all I had. Quickly, I thought of a word that rhymed with dark. Then I had this:

_When I'm alone in the dark,_

_you are my spark._

It sounded good enough to me, so I tried to think of something else. To no avail, though, because I just went completely brain-dead after that. _Think, Maria. Think!_ I told myself. After some useless brainstorming I decided to take a second to calm down. I closed my eyes and rested my head against the backboard of the rickety metal bed. I heard the springs cry out in agony whenever I moved, and it let my mind wander to the agony I used to be in before I met Shadow. I thought about the days of my life without him. The years of him watching me from afar, never bothering to introduce himself. Me never bothering to introduce _my_self. Then, I thought about the day I met him and we decided to be friends. Then the day after that, when we had that crazy fight, and I had to go searching for him before the party started. And then the foolish, naïve kiss. That silly, meaningless, everything kiss. I told him I loved him that day. _The day after I met him? Was I crazy? _I thought to myself. Obviously I didn't mean it then, but my perspective of him definitely grew overtime.

Then I thought about the party, where all he seemed to be was protective and proud of having me with him. I giggled, remembering when he broke down my door, then later when he kissed me with such passion I felt lightheaded. The months of happiness with him. The rose. Izzie, then the bomb...

And then looking over and seeing him sleeping next to me. I imagined him fighting with the doctors and nurses not to have to leave my side. I imagined him laying down at my left and feeling comfortable enough in my very presence to fall into a blessed sleep.

Finally, I had caught myself up to the current point.

And I began to write,

and write,

and write.

- XXX -

By the time Shadow came back into the clinic, I had finished my poem and was lying back down in the bed. I was right about him fetching his own literary artwork, because I could see a crumpled piece of paper in his hands as he smirked at me from the doorway. He leaned against the open door, watching me. Standing there in front of me, I admired how mature and masculine he looked. He may not have been truthfully very tall, but I imagined him towering over me, whispering romantic words into my ear.

"Welcome back!" I said a little too excitably. He just snickered and sat in a wooden chair next to my head.

"Don't worry about the rose if you're thinking about it at all. It was nothing anyway. My real present is this." He waved the paper in front of me and flashed his sharp dagger-like teeth. I couldn't help but blush at the gesture.

"Come here." I motioned for him to lean closer to me. When he had leaned in a few inches from my face, I strained my neck up to kiss him powerfully and he was caught a bit by surprise. For better convenience he climbed back onto the bed and leaned over me on his hands and knees as we kissed. After a while his knees gave out and he let himself fall over me as we continued to kiss. I wrapped my hands around him and he weaved his fingers through my hair. This was our most amazing kiss yet.

But then, of course, a nurse had to walk in.


	11. Hell is Breaking Loose

The nurse dropped a folder she was holding and muttered, "Oh my God."

Shadow's head shot up like lightning, and faster than the speed of sound he was right in front of her. "You listen to me." He commanded. She just looked at me, then him, then the door. "Don't even think about it." He said in the same, threatening tone. A low growl began to reverberate through his lungs as he perked his ears up as straight as they could go.

"What do you want from me?" She asked, her cheeks turning tomato red.

"You listen to me." He repeated, "You didn't see _anything_."

"I didn't see anything." She repeated shakily.

"Good. Now then." Shadow picked up the folder and handed it back to her. "What's this?"

"Some test results." She replied, her voice quavering slightly less. "Th-they're for Ms. Robotnik."

She took two transparent sheets out of the folder and walked across the room to hand them to me. I took them and stared intensely at what I saw on the first one. It was obviously supposed to be my brain, but there were strange lines, like rivers on a map, that seemed to be inching their way around it. "Care to explain?" I asked.

That sparked Shadow's interest, and he ran up to my side for a look. "Whoa, is that your brain? What is _that_?" He asked.

"We don't know." The nurse answered, some sort of strange side-effect to the toxins you were exposed to. This is an X-Ray we took of your brain this morning, and we took the other one a few hours later.

I stuck the first one behind the second one and took a look. The "rivers" had spread dramatically and were now emitting a strange fog.

"We would describe this as some sort of glow that these corrupted nerves are giving off, but we don't know how to explain this horrific phenomenon." The nurse said as we continued to study the image.

"Wait." Shadow looked up at her. "What do you mean 'horrific'? could this kill her?"

"Well, it's already corrupted thousands of nerves in Ms. Robotnik's brain. If it hasn't affected her yet, it's only a matter of time before it does." She wouldn't make eye-contact with us, and she used a serious tone of voice. Not getting emotionally involved. I knew this voice. It was the same voice my grandfather had used many times before when he would tell a radiation-exposed or injured scientist that they were going to die.

Low and soft, I let the words tumble out of my mouth. I knew I would be uttering them someday, but I had no idea it would be today.

"I'm going to die."

It was more of a statement than a question; I was just so sure it was true.

The nurse gave a slight nod. "Probably." Shadow grabbed my shoulder with his left hand and the bed-side table with his right, steadying himself.

"Thanks for being honest." He said flatly.

"I'll leave you two alone to discuss this." She seemed relieved to be leaving the room and shut the door behind herself with a bang.

But we didn't discuss it. Shadow didn't say a word. Just grabbed the lamp on the small table and through it on the ground in fury. The darkness caved in on us immediately, accompanying the clash and clatter of glass. I heard the squeak and groan of the bed springs as Shadow sat down and laid back, his head next to mine. Still without words, I searched the air with my hands out until I felt his soft fur. Taking his head in my hands I kissed him and we let the blackness swallow us. Together, we hid in the pitch darkness, waiting for the struggle of life and the universe to go away and be lifted off our shoulders. Waited to just be naïve young lovers again, and not the pained and worn out people that we had become.

I jumped and that damn monitor spiked a final time as Shadow shot up in the bed, swinging his legs over the side and hitting the floor. I felt the cord in my wrist be yanked from under my skin and the monitor shut off. I yelped helplessly at the pain. "Shadow!" I yelled, "What's your problem? Why'd you do that?!"

The door opened and I saw his shadowy silhouette appear in the blinding light, realizing he was already leaving the room. Before it slammed shut and I heard his rocket shoes kick on, I heard a single word from him. A word that he said with anger, frustration, and overall hatred.

"Della!"

By the time I got a bandage for my wrist thanks to Shadow, ran down the research labs that weren't inactive for toxic waste removal, and found the one that Della and Shadow were in, it was too late to prevent the screaming. I mean, I _did_ join in after all.

"You evil, murdering whore!"

"You disgusting little bastard!"

"I outta kill you RIGHT NOW!"

"Me too!"

"Hey, hey, HEY!" I yelled as I ran in. I pointed at Della. "Just get off our backs, you WITCH!" Then I turned to Shadow. "You're not protecting me if that's what you think you're doing! It doesn't do you any good if you're going to be unpredictable all the time and do crazy things without letting me know first! I'm part of this too you know! Hell, I'm the one who's the most affected besides... that poor scientist!" I felt really bad about forgetting her name. Now she was just another piece of this delusional puzzle. No longer her own person with a shot in life to be famous for anything that's more important than to three people.

"You wanna know why I ripped that IV out of you Maria? Huh?" Shadow said angrily. I was alarmed with the idea of him talking to me this way, but I wasn't going to stop my quest for answers now.

"Yes! I do!" I said angrily back.

"So that you could get out of that frickin' hospital room but not before I could get back at Della first!"

"Why can't I ever be a hero too?"

"Because I'll miss you too much when you're gone! I don't want to be the CAUSE OF YOUR DEATH!"

"WELL IT'S TOO LATE FOR THAT!" I screamed. Suddenly, I realized I had gone too far.

"I'M SORRY!" He screamed back, beginning to sob and falling to his knees.

After all this I had completely forgotten that Della was there, but she got my attention when we both turned our heads to the sound of her clapping. "I know," She laughed, "A little cliché, but I couldn't help it." She walked over to Shadow's side and looked at him with disgust. "I _did_ mean to kill you two with the bomb, but it wasn't supposed to go off just yet. It was a good thing you were outside that door though, and it was a _really_ good thing I was eating breakfast at the time. What a great day to be late, right?" Silence. "Whatever. Let me walk you through my plan."

I interrupted. "What's your motive? Why do you hate us so much?"

"Well, it's not actually _that_ personal, believe it or not. I'll tell you that story too. Those toxins will soon kill you anyway. And as for you, tsk tsk tsk..." She shook her head as she looked down at Shadow, drawing a 9mm pistol from her lab coat. "I'll finish you off myself."

* * *

_Just so you guys know, I have a blog on WordPress .com called Shadow Girl, where you can catch up on what's happening in my life and read some deleted scenes from my works of fan fiction! Just go to your address bar and type in: Shadow Girl three oh five-five dot word press dot com (I know I typed it weirdly but my word processor seems to keep deleting real numbers. Whatever!)._

_Wow, that ruined the mood, didn't it?_

_-TheVideoGamer_


	12. No, No, No, No

Every footstep Della made reverberated through the big empty room. I know I should have been listening to what she was saying, but it was such a perfect scene.

_Right out of an action movie._ I thought to myself, watching as if I'm just a viewer looking down at the situation. The girl who requires saving, the protagonist threatened with a gun while the antagonist gives a cliché speech as she paces about the room. I would've laughed if it weren't Shadow who had the gun to his head.

Aside from that thought, I couldn't help but notice the familiarity of our surroundings. It was a room I had to have been in before. The cracked glass wall from which I had entered, the broken stasis tube standing tall near the glass, the machinery sprawled casually about the room. The stainless steel panel that read... what did it say?

That's when it hit me.

"Project: Shadow"

The stories that Shadow and Della had told on his birthday came flooding back to me immensely.

_But why did Della come here anyway?_ I wondered, realizing I probably should have been listening to her story. But then I thought, _Why do we always wait around while the bad guys are distracted? Why don't we attack them during their story? Well, because we're either being held hostage with a weapon or imprisoned, of course. But it's not like she would react quickly enough if I was to try something, right?_

When I bothered to look away from my surroundings I realized that Shadow was way ahead of me, trying to secretly pry a nail from the floor.

"...And so that's when I realized that Shadow and you, being the little troublemakers you are, would find out that I'm actually selling the government secrets. I made up the illusion that I 'cared about you two' or whatever, and that brings us around to my plans to kill you..." We only half-payed attention while Shadow and I exchanged glances of agreement. From what I could tell, he was going to throw the nail at her and we were going to make a run for it... something like that.

I didn't blame him for being hesitant, though. He had many chances to kill her that he didn't take. I mean, he wasn't a murderer, and he did grow up with this woman. Finally, as she began to talk us through the explosion, he took a golden opportunity and the nail embedded itself between her eyes. Not before she could fire the gun as her dying action, though. I screamed at the top of my lungs as Shadow attempted to evade.

_Attempted._

I scrambled over to him as I saw him grip his side. "No, no no no no, Shadow...?" I whispered in denial as blood began to ooze through his fingers. "Shadow...?" I asked again, mentally begging God to erase this moment from time as I stared into his fear-filled eyes.

He just shook his head, saying, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

"No. I refuse to believe this is really happening." I picked him up in my arms, not caring if there was going to be a big red stain on my nightgown.

I began to run out of the room but stopped before I even reached the doorway. A huge pain struck me right in my temples and I nearly dropped Shadow as I fell to my knees. "Maria?" He asked, "Are you okay?"

"Shut up." I replied, "You shouldn't be asking that question."

He tried to chuckle, but it sounded more like a choked sob. Then he said, "Is it your head?"

I nodded, closing my eyes as if that would relieve the pain. A scientist walking by in the hallway then saw us through the glass and rushed in.

I can't remember much more of that scene because that's when I blacked out.

But I do remember waking up in the same hospital bed as before, and this time Shadow was in a neighboring bed. I was hooked up to the damn cardiac monitor again, but it made me feel a little better when I saw that Shadow was stuck with one too. I remember my thoughts blurring together, not really connecting the way they should. "Why is that a why?" I asked, soon realizing that made no sense.

"What?" Shadow asked, trying to laugh again but failing the same way as before.

"I-I don't know." My head was hurting so badly that I hardly cared if I was speaking gibberish.

"A-am I going not?"

"Excuse me?"

"Am I going in-insane?" Shadow turned his head to me. His expression was so blank, as if he had just given up. He had a big bandage that covered his side and it made me wince just looking at it.

He didn't give me a yes or no answer. Just grabbed my hand in his and said, "We made it this far."

"Hm." I wanted to say yes, but couldn't see any joy in the situation other than the fact that we were alive.

"I won't be coming back." I mumbled. "Sorry, I mean, I won't be recovering from this, will I?"

"Don't think like that."

"It's such a thing."

I could tell he'd given up on making sense of me. Just stared at the ceiling. The same nurse as before entered soon after.

"Ms. Robotnik, I'm sorry to say we have some bad news."

"Go do some."

"We had a feeling your speech would be... ruptured. That's partly why we're here. Okay, so your brain has taken severe damage, and this strange virus is still spreading through it. I'm sorry, but you won't live to see tomorrow." She took a pause for it all to soak in, and the only thing I could think to do was see how Shadow was taking it. He had his hands folded across his stomach and continued to stare at the ceiling, but I could hear his monitor spike and his ragged breathing. He was trying not to burst into tears.

"The process has already started, with the headaches and occasional loss of consciousness. Soon, mood swings will begin to show, followed by vomiting, and then death. We're sorry, Ms. Robotnik."

They left and Shadow and I were alone again. What was I supposed to say? We sat in silence. Cold, dark, unforgiving silence.

"Well damn, Shadow, this was all worth it. I swear."

He looked to me with horror on his face, but continued to be silent. Finally, he responded with, "Whatever you say, Maria."

* * *

_Hey readers! Sorry if this wasn't that great of a chapter, I've been procrastinating about writing this for a while and decided I needed to continue it, so I did what I could. I hope you enjoyed it, because I lost the data twice! Seriously_

_-TheVideoGamer _


	13. My Poem: Hero

I tried to hold the tears in, but they wouldn't stop coming. I wanted to scream, "I wish I could stay here with you!" I wanted to say, "Shadow, you're the love of my life! Never forget that!" But instead I just kept silently crying. I turned my head away whenever he looked over, but there was no hiding our misery. He forced himself to a sitting position and began to pull on the cords that protruded from his skin. "Shadow..." I muttered, wondering what he was trying to accomplish. With a grunt, he ripped them out and immediately climbed onto the bed next to me, where he grabbed my side in an embrace and kissed my cheek. "Shadow." I repeated.

"Don't talk. Just, don't try to talk." I sucked in a breath and we continued to lie silently. After a while, I decided not to resist and hugged him back. "I know you're crying." I wiped away some of the tears from my face in reply.

"It's not like _you've_ never cried before."

"I know." When I finally looked over at him I realized that his cheeks were wet too. "Maria, I'm not willing to spend time in a hospital room. It won't work for me. Not ever, but especially..." Not finishing his sentence for obvious reasons, I took a turn at filling in the silence.

"I respect that. And I know just where to go." I yanked out my own cords and got up quickly - too quickly. "Ah!" I fell to my knees.

"Maria!" He tried to get up but was very slow. His side was obviously causing him a lot of pain.

"I'm fine." I said, "I just stopped my flow of morphine. Give me a minute." Slowly, I got back to my feet and a nurse walked in.

"What are you guys doing!? You need that morphine or you're going to be in a lot of pain!"

So ten minutes and two new IVs later, Shadow and I were pathetically strolling down the hall. We walked at a slow pace on our way to my room. I guess the intention of going back to my bedroom was to try to forget what was happening. "So they got that bullet out of you?" I asked to form some conversation. We were always so quiet together.

"Yeah. Numbed me from the neck down and pulled it out with a pair of tweezers."

"Gross. Did you have to watch?"

"Did I _have_ to watch? I think you mean 'did I _get_ to watch'. And yes. It was cool." I made a disgusted face and he smiled. "Please, don't make me laugh."

"Okay."

We were halfway down the hallway when he stopped dead in his tracks. "My poem!"

"What?"

"I-I... what happened to it?" He couldn't remember. "Oh no..."

"It's okay! It's okay!" I tried to comfort him. "Do you remember what it said?"

"Umm... Not really. Just a few lines. I worked so hard on it..."

"Just tell me the first few lines! I'm sure they'll be great and you'll remember the rest later."

"Umm... Okay. Later. Let's get back to your room first."

"...If it makes you feel any better, I wrote a poem too, and I also lost it. Wait, did we leave those in the hospital room, the first time we were there?"

He gasped. "Be right back!"

"No, I'm coming with you! I want to get _my_ paper too!" We stumbled back to the infirmary and searched the room. It didn't take me long to find my poem where I had left it (and forgotten where it was) which was in a drawer from the bedside table. Shadow found his, a balled up sheet of printer paper, under my bed where it had fallen from his hands when he went to kiss me before the nurse walked in on us. Smiling with relief, we began our trek back to my room.

Twenty minutes later we were entering my room. No one had talked the entire trip and I shut the door behind us.

"Who's reading first?" Shadow asked with a bit of excitement.

I opened my mouth to speak but nothing seemed to come out except a series of gibberish. _No!_ I thought to myself, _No,_ _no, no! _I didn't want my last real word to be "too". I wanted it to be "Shadow".

He watched the concern grow on my face as I spoke nonsense. Running up to me, he said, "Oh, shh! It's okay! It's okay!" Now it was _his_ turn to say those two words. "Shh! Just, don't try to speak! D-don't try to speak!" His eyes began to get shiny and wet, and it hurt even more than not being able to speak to see tears drop from his eyes. It was torture to see him cry. I didn't want to, but I cried with him, and he pulled me to the ground with him. There, we sat down on the carpet and held each other, but I didn't forget about the poem in my hand. I gripped it so hard that the paper crinkled and he responded, "Don't worry about that! I'll read it myself, and it'll be wonderful! I promise! Please, don't cry. Don't cry..." He let me rest my head on his shoulder and continued to beg me not to cry, but it made me cry more to see what pain he was in. And to think I had caused it all.

Suddenly, I broke away from him and ran to my bathroom. He didn't move, didn't ask what I was doing. Just sat there on the ground where we were, his hands shaking as I gave him a last glance before slamming the door and vomiting into the toilet. I flushed the white appliance and grabbed some mouthwash from under the sink, swishing it around in my mouth as I looked at myself in the mirror. There were dark circles around my eyes and as I leaned my head down to spit into the sink, I saw something that horrified me. There, hanging down around my face with the rest of my hair, was a small strand of grey.

"What?" I whispered, yanking it from my head. I stared at it in the light of the bathroom. I had actually found a grey strand of hair on my head. And I was twelve.

"Sometimes that happens under stress." Shadow responded, watching me from the doorway.

"Hey!" I yelled angrily, not having noticed him open the door. "Stay away from me! STAY AWAY!" I grabbed a bar of soap and threw it at his head. For some reason, I was furious.

"You can speak!" He exclaimed happily. I threw the mouthwash at him. "Hey, I thought mood swings came before vomiting."

I gasped. "They got it wrong. They got it WRONG! MAYBE I'LL LIVE AFTER ALL!" I began to jump up and down, but slowly stopped when Shadow narrowed his eyes at me. He looked confused, and at the time I didn't get why. Then it hit me.

"Oh, wait, there they are. The mood swings." I said softly. "The order doesn't matter. I'm going to die anyway." I sat down on the toilet lid and tried not to cry anymore. He walked over to me and pushed the hair away from my face.

"If it makes you feel any better..." He stopped, obviously trying to think of something. "I'm sure there are worse diseases on Earth."

Something sparked inside of me, and for some reason it reminded me of the poem pressed tightly into my hand. It was now just a little ball of white that I had shoved into my palm so I could hold the container of mouthwash from earlier. I had never let go of it. "Let me read this to you."

"Alright." He smiled, taking me by the wrist and leading us to my bed to sit down. I held it in front of me and read,

"When I'm alone in the dark,

You are my spark.

Your eyes, their fire

Are much to admire.

I never want to be without you

And my feelings for you are so true.

Even under the spell of disaster

We have proved ourselves Love's master.

When I drift off into a blessed sleep

I'll always think of our connection, so deep.

And as I watch you from under my halo,

I'll smile down at you Shadow, my hero."

"Beautiful. Maria, that means so much to me." He replied warmly, clapping his hands.

"I'm glad you liked it. I didn't think it'd be too great because to be honest, I wrote it in a few minutes."

He chuckled. "Okay, my turn." He unwrinkled his paper and took his time to smooth it out. He looked nervous. "Ahem."

_BOOM!_

"Oh my God, not another explosion..." I grumbled as Shadow threw the door open frantically. He took one look through the hall and ran over to me. "What are you-" Once I got a good glimpse of the hall I understood his strange reaction.

"Don't look." He said, trying to cover my eyes. I pushed his gloved hand away. I had already saw him. The scientist who's head was bleeding out on the floor. A soldier in a navy blue helmet and a GUN uniform was running down the hall in the opposite direction.

I began to gag as Shadow ran over to the man and pointlessly checked his pulse. Without directly saying it, he just looked over at me with a pained expression. He then shook his head. I probably would have thrown up if I still had any food left in my stomach, but instead my vision began to blur and I fell to my knees. In a frantic outburst, I yelled at him, "What's happening!?"

He slowly crossed the hall and looked at me. We were about the same height now. "I don't know." He replied simply, "I don't know anymore."


	14. Blood and Betrayel

I felt weak as Shadow pulled me to my feet. I didn't even know how to react to anything anymore. I just hobbled behind Shadow as he pulled me by the wrist. We were both expressionless, like we just found out we had been reduced back to nothing.

I could hear the rush of blood in my ears and was seeing double, but I didn't let myself fall as we attempted to run. Shadow looked more like he was limping, and I kept tripping over my own feet, but we were moving. After about a minute or so, I began to wonder where we were going.

"W-where're we going?" I asked, panting.

"I..." He trailed off, seemingly not sure. "I just want..."

I stopped and he was jerked backward. "Shadow, we need a plan."

"We have to figure out what's going on first."

"How?"

"I don't know! We'll figure it out, okay?"

I just nodded, realizing I wasn't exactly putting him at _ease_.

Suddenly, we heard the yelling of my grandfather and he ran up to us. "Maria! Come with me!" He shouted, grabbing me by the shoulders. Shadow backed away and lowered his ears.

"What about Shadow?" I asked.

"He... Never mind him! We need to go!"

"What? I can't leave him here! What's going on? Did an experiment go wrong? We're scared, Grandfather!"

"Maria, we just don't have time right now! Hurry up and follow me!"

"No! I'm not moving until you tell me!"

He looked over at Shadow. "Yes, something went wrong, Maria. Project: Shadow's getting terminated. We need to escape! GUN's not showing any mercy!"

I gasped and Shadow began to growl. Shocked that he would growl at his creator, I turned to face Shadow, but then saw that he was glaring at a soldier with his gun aimed at him. Only the soldier didn't shoot. He had red hair that fell from his helmet and his face was extremely pale. I assumed it to be from anxiety rather than his ethnicity, because the pistol shook in his hands. I could tell he didn't want to kill Shadow.

Well, it was either that, or because Shadow was now beginning to glow red with Chaos Energy.

"No, Shadow."

The crimson aura immediately faded as he whispered, "Are you _insane_?"

"I may be sick in the head, but I'm not crazy." I retorted.

"This is no time for jokes!" The young redhead yelled.

That brought the ebony hedgehog's attention back to the man with the weapon. Shadow began to charge up again.

"He's not going to shoot." I whispered.

"Sure he is!" Shadow yelled, growing ever brighter, "Look at him! He's probably about to-"

"_Look at him_?" I replied, "He's literally shaking with fear." The man looked over at me.

"Better safe than sorry." Shadow replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No!" I yelled, trying to shove him. The black creature didn't move an inch. It was like I had tried to push a stone statue.

Well, I guess Shadow had better instincts than me, because the soldier fired his gun right as Shadow finished yelling, "Chaos Blast!"

Boy, was I tired of explosions.

Luckily, Grandfather and I were close enough to Shadow not to have been hit by the powerful shockwave he exerted. Unfortunately for the guy with the gun, he wasn't. Around the rubble in his general area, I saw some splattered blood. Trying not to gag again though, I looked away quickly. Shadow wrapped his arms around me but I pushed him off, disgusted by his murderous act.

"Y-you killed him!" I breathed.

"I had to, Love! There was nothing else I could've done! He was going to kill-" He didn't finish his sentence because he had stepped back and looked at me. "M-Maria..."

I looked down and saw a gunshot wound in the middle of my torso.

"Oh my God!" My grandfather screamed as he saw me. "You need attention right now! That's why you should've came with me when you had the chance!"

I didn't speak for a moment, just stood there, dazed, watching the blood pour from my open wound. I couldn't believe I had gotten shot. I still didn't even feel anything. "An-" Now I began to feel it. Speaking wasn't going to be easy. "And... just... let... Shadow... die?" I asked, slowly, gritting my teeth.

"I..." He shook his head. "I never thought you cared about him."

I stumbled backward and fell onto my back. Shadow ran over to me with great concern, frantically asking me if I was okay. He began to stroke my forehead gently.

"Oh my God..." He repeated. "You-"

Shadow nodded. "I love her. But what does it matter now, Professor?"

"I'm... going to get a nurse." He ran in the opposite direction and Shadow kissed me as he left.

"I wish, more than anything in the world," he began, "That I could tell you it was going to be okay."

I smiled up at him. "What... am I still doing... on the floor?"

"Don't try to get up. You're too wounded." He then placed one hand on top of another and applied a small amount of pressure to the ailment, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Hey... we have... matching gunshot wounds." I refused to stop smiling as he shot me a serious look.

"I guess." He replied, "Humans and guns... I'll never pick one up, that's for sure."

"I'll... bet you will... someday."

"What makes you say that?"

"Just... a feeling..."

He rolled his eyes, beginning to apply more pressure to redness of my nightgown. It already had his own dried blood on it from the shooting with Della, and now it was getting coated in more. That really got me thinking about how much had happened in such a short time. It hadn't even been half a year ago since I'd met Shadow. Time really flew by.

"...Shadow...?"

"Hm?"

"What happened... to Della?"

His eyes grew wider in shock. "Why'd that come to mind?"

"I just-"

We began to hear the screams of my grandfather again.

"Thank you so much!" Shadow yelled, "She's in serious condition! Please help-"

"Not. A. Word." That's all I heard from the direction in which he was speaking. I lifted my head slightly and saw that Grandfather was standing behind three armed GUN agents. Their guns were all on Shadow.

"How... could you?" I asked in horror.

"Now, I agree with them. This project _has_ gotten a little out of hand."

"W-what? Professor?" Shadow stood up and showed them his hands. He was obviously hurt by this. "Are you serious?"

"..." Grandfather said nothing. He just watched the GUN agents as they looked at each other and nodded their heads.

And then they shot.

Shadow was still hung up on fact that his creator gave two humans permission to kill him, and was caught slightly off guard when they shot. He threw himself to the ground next to me and just barely dodged the bullets. They shot again, and he scrambled away, evading once again. He was on his feet by the time they fired again, and at that point he was dodging with ease. They emptied their clips into the wall.

While they rushed to reload their guns, Shadow picked me up bridal style. "No!" Grandfather yelled, "Don't take my granddaughter! I won't forgive you!"

Shadow just stopped in his tracks and turned to the old man. "Who cares about what _you_ think anymore?" With that, we were off.

He moved much more easily once he was on his skates. As he picked up speed, it took him a minute to start a slow jog, but when he kicked on his hover shoes, the pain of carrying his own weight (and mine) seemed to be lifted off his shoulders. He began to glide at the speed of sound down the hallways. When we stopped, I saw that we were in front of the door to the main control room.

Shadow walked in and gingerly set me down on the ground. He then proceeded to lock the door and grab a spinning chair from a set of monitors to put in front of it. He got down on the ground and laid next to me. "What... are you doing?" I asked.

"Just... I don't know." He sighed. "Life is rough, but you were right. We had a good run." Shadow grabbed my hand in his and kissed it.

"And now... our run... is over."

"No." He kissed me on the lips before continuing. "Not _yet_."

* * *

_Hey readers! I guess now's as good a time as ever to mention that TheWritingGamer came up with the idea for Maria to go crazy (which I tweaked a bit, okay a lot), but this story wouldn't have become what it is today without her help. Oh, don't worry! It's not over yet or anything, but as it nears its end, I just wanted to mention that. You know, it's kind of sad to see this story start to go. I can't believe I've been working on it since January! Time really flies, does it not?_

_So anyway, I can assure you that the next chapter will be the last chapter (unless I decide to make an epilogue, but I doubt I will), so I hope you enjoyed reading it! I know TheWritingGamer did... Well, she read it to make fun of me..._

_This is comparable to "Twilight", according to her..._

_Whatever._

_-TheVideoGamer_


	15. Nothing At All

"Maria," Shadow began, "You asked about Della earlier?"

"Yeah. Why did she suddenly leave us alone?"

"She died, Maria. You were there."

"Oh, yeah." My memory was going now, too? It wasn't fair. All I said after that was, "...Am I still bleeding?"

Shadow sat up next to me and looked at the bloody middle of my nightgown. "I'm not sure, there's already a lot of blood, but it's not as bad as before." He started to put more pressure on it. His gloves and arms were soaked in my blood, and it really frightened me to see how much damage I had taken. "Please, please don't cry. I don't think I can take it." He begged.

I hadn't even noticed that my eyes were tearing up again, and I immediately strained not to. I didn't want Shadow to feel guilty or anything. "Hey, my... uh, speech doesn't get messed up anymore. You think it'll happen again?"

Shadow shrugged his shoulders. "I hope not."

The silence began its usual reign as I laid on the ground, Shadow treating my wound. "Uhh..." I moaned as my vision blurred slightly.

"What's wrong?" He asked quickly and frantically.

"I..." My eyelids drooped.

"No! Please, Maria! Plea-ease!" He was begging with all of his might now. I had never seen him, in all of the stress I've seen him under, this mangled-looking. It was as if he didn't have anything left in his life except for me, and he could hardly even help fight for it.

Then I realized that that was exactly correct.

"Don't leave me! Please!"

I fought to keep my eyelids open. I fought _so_ hard. "I won't." I promised groggily, almost inaudibly. "Never. Never."

He nodded his head sharply, forcing a half-smile. "Yeah! That's it."

But then his voice began to echo in my ears, and my vision got even blurrier. I had an overwhelming sense of relaxation in my body and mind. Was this what dying was? My eyelids got ever heavier...

I saw his mouth turn back into a frown as he observed my body language. He was screaming something at me, but I couldn't hear anymore now. Couldn't hear at all. Then suddenly, he turned around and stood up in front of me. My vision was just barely allowing me to see some GUN soldiers running into the room through the door that they had broken down. Shadow held his hands out to the sides to block me from them, and I saw him crouch into his defensive position. From what I knew of him, he was probably growling viciously. Instead of his ears flattening themselves on his head like they often do, he had them pointed straight up into the air menacingly. It was either a new tactic of defense or a sign of fury. I had a feeling it was the second one. He charged toward the guards and I saw them pull their triggers as my world faded to black.

-XXX-

I awoke suddenly to see a human lying face down to my right side. There was a pool of blood beneath him. Then again, there was a pool of blood beneath me too. I lifted my head and saw that all of the guards were lying on the ground, likely dead. Well, all but one. Shadow stood over him with green Chaos Energy crackling from his hands. I saw him jerk forward and looked away just in time to hear some horrifyingly indescribable noises. I heard him yelling, "You killed her! You all did! This is for her! THIS IS FOR HER! I LOVED HER!" The rest was drowned out by screaming that grew softer and more muffled until it finally ceased.

"Shadow..." I mumbled, looking back over, trying to keep the bloody heap on the floor out of my vision.

His eyes lit up. "You're not...? How?" Running over, he put his arms around me tightly and kissed my lips, my cheeks, my forehead. But when he pulled away slightly and looked into my eyes, I could still see that look of hopelessness in his eyes. There was so much blood beneath me, it was obvious I'd never survive this. I mean, it was either the gunshot or the toxin that was going to kill me. I didn't have a choice. "Maria, I'm not ready to lose you. I'll never be."

"I know... Shadow. I know." I reached a shaky, blood-covered hand out to touch his face. "But... just... please don't... remember me... like this."

"Never. I'll remember the jokes we shared, the beautiful moments of romance we had, and I'll always remember what you've done for me."

"Same here." I tried to smile. He could tell.

"You don't have to lie to me and pretend you're happy. I get the idea."

"There's the old Shadow I know and love." That's what got us both to smile for a second, and actually mean it. But as soon as it happened, it was gone. We were almost instantaneously back to the people we had now become. Scarred, with hearts filled with pain. "Do you... really think this was worth it?" I asked.

He leaned up to my ear closely. "Yes. I always will. Everyday of my immortal life, and beyond."

"Good." Then I took his hand. "Now... Shadow..."

"Yes?"

"I'm... in... so... much... pain."

"I'm so sorry, Maria. What can I do?"

I looked into his eyes with longing, and I watched the realization sweep over him. "No. N-no."

"You promised me... that you would... do this..."

He began to shake his head violently. "No! Don't make me..." He was sobbing again.

"Shh... Shadow, see that pistol?" I pointed at a blood-soaked firearm that was still tightly in a soldier's grasp. "The best thing you can do is relieve me of the pain."

He sucked in a breath. "I promised you this. You shall get it." He slowly walked over to the soldier and pried the gun from the soldier's hand. He couldn't get it loose, and as he got frustrated I began to hear the crack of the human's fingers being broken. Eventually, he got it and walked over to me. His metal shoes hit the cold floor and every step he took toward me, I felt warmer inside, because I knew it would be all over soon.

He checked the magazine for ammo. It had three bullets left. He loaded the weapon, then cocked it. Setting his index finger lightly on the trigger without pulling it, he looked up at me for guidance. "Before... we do this... will you... help me up?"

He grabbed me and pulled me to my feet. Letting go slowly, he left me to walk on my own. I motioned toward an escape pod in the corner of the room. "Get in." I instructed.

He narrowed his eyes, but did as he was told. He left the door open and leaned against the fiberglass back wall of it. I walked up to the control panel near the window and typed in a command.

"TEN SECONDS UNTIL DEPARTURE. TEN..."

It began to count down and, leaning against the window, I made my way to the escape pod. "NINE."

"Maria..."

"You'll have to... replace me in the future... Shadow."

"Maria..."

"EIGHT."

"I only wish... that I could go with you... but... don't judge the humans by these people..." I motioned to the soldiers. "Give them a chance... to be happy. That's the reason you were brought... into this world... Shadow."

"SEVEN."

"You were created... to help people... and... I hope... you'll... be friends with them..."

"Maria."

"SIX."

"Yes, Shadow...?"

He held up his hand and unraveled a blood-stained piece of paper.

His poem.

"Let me read this to you."

"Okay."

"FIVE."

He took a breath, and as quick as lightning, he began to read,

What is love?

Love is friendship set aflame,

Love is sunshine after rain.

Love frees me from the weight and pain of life,

Love is the eraser of any and all strife.

Love may not make murder okay,

But love is what keeps me living another day.

He read it so fast that the automated voice didn't say "FOUR." until after he was done.

I smiled in response and he smiled back. "I'll never forget you." He whispered.

"THREE."

"Alright... you must... do it now." I looked down at the gun that he had set on the ground to read his poem. He just nodded.

He brought it slowly up to my head. I could feel the touch of the cold metal on my forehead and smiled at him. "Thank you."

He didn't say anything.

"TWO."

"I love you... Shadow."

"I love you, too." I watched his grip on the trigger begin to slowly tighten. I could feel that his hand was shaking, but our eyes were locked on each other. We began to hear more soldiers coming. "Sayonara, Maria Robotnik."

"ONE."

The instant he pulled the trigger, I felt the bullet fly through my skull and lodge itself in my brain. I was blinded by red and I felt the blood splatter on and around me. Shadow's last words to me rung in my head as I heard the escape pod door slam shut and the split-second grinding of metal as it shot downward and flew into space. I wanted to dwell on the idea that Shadow had loved me enough to actually kill me just because I asked him to, but I couldn't because by the time I was about to begin the thought, I was already dead.

I began to feel comfortably weightless. My eyes opened and everything seemed bright and warm, though no characteristics of the location were distinguishable. I looked around for a while, not daring to move much, until I realized that there was no longer any pain in my body. I felt my stomach, my head, but nothing. It was as if I'd never taken any damage at all recently. Then there was a voice. Well, if you could call it that. It wasn't really making words, or sounds, but I could tell that I was in heaven. Somehow, for a reason I still don't know, I knew to look down. And then it was as if the ground was made of glass and I was watching through a window.

I could see Shadow, plummeting toward the earth, encased in glass, engulfed by flames. He was on his hands and knees, and I could see his tears dripping to the floor. Suddenly, it was like I was standing next to him in the capsule, watching him from a few inches away. I put my arms around him but I knew he couldn't tell I was there. He was talking to himself, no, to me.

"I promise you, Maria. REVENGE!"

"No!" I shouted at him, that's not what I want! Be kind to the people of Earth!"

But I knew he couldn't hear me. He just stood up, threw his head back and laughed. Being soaked in blood that wasn't his really didn't help him look any less deranged. I began to realize that if it hadn't been for me, that one day many months ago, turning around and actually talking to him, we might still be carrying out our lives. Not happy, but not broken either. I kept saying it was worth it, but was that only to convince myself? I was starting to have doubts about my decisions. Stepping slowly away from Shadow, the scene changed and I was back in heaven, only now it was a green field. There was an ocean to my right, and a thick forest to my left. Butterflies danced gracefully on the wind and flowers towered over the sea of green, but I wasn't happy at all.

"I don't deserve this." I said it aloud. "I caused hell, so why am I in heaven?"

"Don't think like that."

I turned around and jumped, so startled that I think both my feet actually lifted off the ground for a second. It was Shadow. Young, naive little Shadow. The one who used to follow me around in the ARK all the time. Not the new Shadow, who always wore a grave, shattered expression on his face. This one's eyes lit up when I called out his name. He ran up to hug me but I suddenly decided to step aside, not letting him.

"What's wrong?" He asked, offended.

"You're not Shadow. You're just an illusion. That's not who he is anymore."

This faker let out a sigh before saying, "That's true, Maria. You saw right through me." He then dissolved into a million pieces that looked like shards of light. This cloud of soft yellow suddenly surrounded me and all I could see was bright gold. I heard this entity speak again, but it wasn't Shadow's voice. It was a genderless, kind, welcoming voice.

"What can I do to make you happy in heaven?"

"Nothing." I replied, "Nothing at all."

* * *

_I'm sorry to see it end. I liked writing this story, and I hope you all enjoyed reading it. I'll miss reading my new reviews and having this as a fun pastime, but everything has to end eventually. Thank you so much for all of your kindness and support. "Be My Shadow" wouldn't be where it is today if it wasn't for you guys reviewing and encouraging me! I love you all! Sayonara!_

_-TheVideoGamer_


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